Pancotto

Stale bread boiled to collapse with potatoes and bitter greens.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 350 g stale country bread, torn
• 3 potatoes, in chunks
• 300 g wild rocket or turnip tops
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 dried chilli
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in 1.2 litres of salted water for 12 minutes, then add the greens for 5 more.
2. ADD THE TORN BREAD STRAIGHT INTO THE POT and let it boil for 5 minutes until it falls apart completely. It is not toasted and not fried and not laid in the bowl underneath — this is bread BOILED, which is what the name says.
3. Stir it hard so the bread, potato and greens become one thick mass with no distinct pieces of bread left.
4. It should be thick enough that a spoon stands for a moment, not soupy. Add hot water if it has gone past that.
5. Separately, fry the garlic and chilli in the oil until the garlic is just gold.
6. Pour the hot garlic oil over each bowl at the table so it stays separate and sharp against the soft bread.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes